


a storm is coming

by patrichor



Series: invincible in a violet sea (ender dragon hybrid!ranboo) [4]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Corrupted Antfrost, End Prince Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Ender Dragon Hybrid Ranboo, Foreshadowing, Gen, Light Angst, Ominous Vibes, Scheming, The Egg (Dream SMP), are they right?? idk but he's sure, bad feels guilty but he's sure of his priorities, corrupted badboyhalo, idk how to tag this???, idk what else to tag im tired, mention of Alzheimer's, not really! just some of the symptoms are vaguely described as part of something else, they r just antagonists chilling & makin plans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:40:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29370195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/patrichor/pseuds/patrichor
Summary: Dream respawns and ponders Ranboo's origins and what the presence of an ender dragon hybrid will mean for the server. Badboyhalo fixes up the damage to the Egg's chamber, and asks himself how far he'll go to make sure Ranboo doesn't oppose the Egg.Or, the antagonist interlude
Series: invincible in a violet sea (ender dragon hybrid!ranboo) [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2139606
Comments: 22
Kudos: 282
Collections: Completed stories I've read





	a storm is coming

**Author's Note:**

> really short entry this time! i just want to set up the antagonists and the conflict for the series, and give u guys the lore bc i came up with it and im rlly proud of it slfdjsk :)
> 
> thanks for reading!

Dream respawns with his mind already racing. He sits up but doesn't bother getting off the bed, hands automatically moving to check that his mask is still in place. He'd half expected the plan to go wrong, but not like that. He'd thought Technoblade would lose his temper, or Philza would pull some trick, but the kid? He hadn't registered the kid as a threat, and only now is he realizing how grave a mistake he's made.

A dragon hybrid. How? When? He'd appeared in the SMP one day without being whitelisted, claiming ignorance due to amnesia, and yet there's no way he could have come from the End. It had been sealed a long time ago, back when the server was new and Dream had gone inside, only to find it was too dangerous and seal it off. He needs to check the seal, but he knows XD would have told him if it had broken. And Ranboo had been around for a while, anyway, which means the seal would have broken a while ago.

An ender dragon... it's been years since Dream faced one, and he still has the scars to remember it by. He's killed dozens, and he had no idea why this world's dragon was so much more dangerous until now. It had nearly followed him back to the Overworld, far more aggressive than it should have been, and now that he understands he scolds himself for not realizing it sooner. Ranboo must be an End Prince who had survived past the adolescence of the new Queen somehow, and escaped to another world. But how? Just being in the End would have triggered his biological decay, unless... unless he left before the Queen reached maturity.

But no End Prince would leave voluntarily- their job is to watch over and protect the new Queen from egg to adulthood, at which point they absorb her bloodlust and die. It's their one purpose, and he knows none would abandon their Queen, as to do so is to risk extinction of that world's End creatures. Was he captured by foolish adventurers who saw a unique hybrid and decided to kidnap him without knowing or caring how much harm they were causing? Who? It wasn't anyone currently on the server, Dream is sure of that. But how had someone come on and off without him noticing? Was it before his time as Admin?

He'll ask XD the next time it deigns to visit him, he thinks. It's been here longer than he has, and sometimes he suspects it spawned when the server itself did. If anyone would know, it would be XD.

Ranboo being an End Prince, though, would explain the memory loss. He hasn't seen the process itself, but he's learned from old books in the stronghold that the decay process starts with the mind. Short-term memory problems are the first sign, then difficulty performing basic tasks, then near-complete memory loss and delusions, then difficulty speaking, and then their body begins to decay and they slowly lose the ability to do things like eat, walk, and even sit up.

If Ranboo had only drained enough bloodlust to reach the first stage, then no wonder the ender dragon had been so violent when Dream had entered the End. Likely her rage had only been amplified when her brother and protector was stolen from her, and if players had taken him then Dream likely reminded her of the perpetrators, which would only make her angrier.

He ponders, tapping a finger on the painted smile. Theoretically, if he brought Ranboo to the End and gave it a year or two, he would automatically fulfill his purpose and the End would be safe for others to enter. He isn't sure, though, if he wants the rest of the server to have access. He knows Philza especially is deadly with an elytra, the extra wings boosting his agility by an incredible amount. Not to mention, he knows better than to think that he could keep Ranboo's fate or his role in it from the two anarchists, and he also knows their fury would mean nowhere would be safe for him ever again.

Of course, that doesn't mean he can't manipulate the kid into going there on his own, but it would be more work, especially since Ranboo now has marked him as a threat to his flock. Dream is familiar with the savagery dragons are capable of, from both the Queen so long ago and the Prince just minutes ago. There's still a way to use this to his advantage, he's sure, there has to be. But he's going to have to be very, very careful how he goes about it.

As Dream exits his hidden respawn room and heads toward the L'Manhole, his eyes alight on a red vine and he pauses, the beginnings of a plan starting to take shape in his mind. This... he can use this. And if he plays his cards right, before long he'll have the power of a dragon at his disposal.

**~~~~~~~**

Bad inspects the damaged wall where the dragon had broken through, a smile on his face as he appreciates the sheer power it must have taken to form such a large hole without the use of tools. He and Antfrost are about to repair it- can't have such an obvious, unprotected entrance into the Egg's chamber- but he can't help admiring the ability to do so much damage. With that kind of destructive force on their side, they'll have no problem getting people in the chamber to be influenced by the Egg.

He feels a faint hum of agreement from the Egg, and his smile stretches wider. Really, the only problem for them will be if the dragon is immune. Other than perhaps Technoblade or Dream, that would pose the biggest threat to the Eggpire. He's not too worried, though. Thus far, only Tommy and Foolish have been proven immune, so the odds are low.

It never hurts, however, to have contingency plans. A flash of unease shoots through him at the thought of what those contingency measures will be. He knows better than anyone, it's the reason he let himself be corrupted at all. His smile fades as he considers. Is he really willing to put someone else through what he went through? The same fear and hurt and pain, knowing someone you love is in trouble and unable to do anything? He is a demon, and genuine bonds are not in their nature but he hurts for his best friend all the same. How much worse would it be, he wonders, for a creature like a dragon whose very self revolves around protecting their hoard?

The Egg hums in the back of his mind, and an image of Skeppy appears in his head- the old Skeppy, blue and smiling. Bad grits his teeth and shoves away his doubts. He's doing this for Skeppy. And maybe he feels bad for the dragon, he's just a kid, but Bad can't afford to let compassion stop him from saving the only person who matters to him now. As long as it helps Skeppy, he thinks, it doesn't matter who gets hurt.

He can feel the Egg's approval, and he shoves down how nauseated it makes him feel. Everything will be fine. Once the Egg has what it wants, once the server belongs to the Eggpire, Skeppy will be okay again. That's what matters. And if he has to hurt or threaten innocent people to get there... it's okay. It's okay, because it means saving Skeppy. As long as he's with his best friend, it doesn't matter what he has to do to get there.

They finish patching the wall, and Bad turns to Ant with his smile fixed firmly back in place.

"Gather the others," He says lightly, tail swishing behind him. "We have plans to make."

**Author's Note:**

> in case ur wondering, yeah i based the decay on alzheimers. it kinda scares me tbh,,, multiple people on my dad's side have died from it which means bc genetics i have a higher chance of getting it,, and i already have bad memory so like :/ im just really afraid of losing myself, yknow?? so i guess this is kinda cathartic lmao :'
> 
> also end prince lore!!! i'm so excited to talk about it ksbfhd i worked out a whole system and role and everything!! scrapped ideas include the ender dragon queen's anger growing until she kills the end prince, whenever that is, and the guilt from that keeps her from being too aggressive for players to defeat, but i decided i like the slow decay better :)


End file.
